Wind power research at Oregon State University

There have been two primary thrusts of the research effort to date, along with several supplementary ones. One primary area has been an investigation of the wind fields along coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest, not only at the shoreline but also for a number of miles inland and offshore as well. Estimates have been made of the influence of the wind turbulence as measured at coastal sites in modifying the predicted dependence of power generated on the cube of the wind speed. Wind flow patterns in the Columbia River valley have also been studied. The second primary thrust has been to substantially modify and improve an existing wind tunnel to permit the build up of a boundary layer in which various model studies will be conducted. One of the secondary studies involved estimating the cost of building an aerogenerator.